Greenwich, Rye Brook officials worry about hockey complex traffic

Published 9:52 pm, Wednesday, May 29, 2013

When it comes to the giant hockey complex being proposed in Rye Brook, N.Y., Mayor Paul Rosenberg says he carved a fresh line in the ice Tuesday night.

"(We're) very concerned with the volume of traffic as proposed right now," Rosenberg said Wednesday, referring to the village's five-member Board of Trustees.

Regarding the concerns of nearby Greenwich residents who fear that swarms of cars will clog King Street, Rosenberg said: "They're spot on."

The trustees conveyed that message at a public hearing Tuesday night, Rosenberg said. At stake is the ambitious proposal by Reckson Operating Partnership L.P. to build a 140,000-square-foot recreation center at Reckson Executive Park, 1100 King St.

The plan calls for 1,052 parking spaces and seating for 1,550 people in two different locations.

Supporters say it will ease the overcrowding at ice- skating rinks across the region. Opponents fear it will change the character of the King Street corridor, exacerbate the area's already heavy rush-hour traffic and potentially hamper emergency responders at night and on weekends from quickly getting to calls.

King Street is the north-south thoroughfare that for nearly six miles alternately forms the Connecticut-New York border or weaves back and forth across the line.

The Board of Trustees will conduct another public hearing June 25 at 7 p.m. in the Rye Brook Village Hall, 938 King St. Ultimately, the board will rule on whether to grant a special permit and amended site plan for the project. But the public hearing could get pushed back to July if the developer doesn't file an updated traffic study addressing new concerns in time for a Rye Brook traffic consultant to review it.

At Tuesday's hearing, several Greenwich residents and officials voiced their concerns and frustrations over the project.

First, she pointed to reports filed by the developer and reviewed by the Rye Brook consultant that describe how a traffic signal in Greenwich at Anderson Hill Road and King Street would need modifications. She had never been consulted about the matter before reading about it in the reports, she said.

"We control that traffic signal," she said. "We're not thrilled with the recommendation that we have to change (it)."

Next, Fox requested more information about how residents living near the Merritt Parkway on- and off-ramps would be affected by the development. With up to eight hockey tournaments each year -- bringing teams and fans from outside the area -- Fox foresees a spike in highway traffic into western Greenwich.

Third, Fox asked for a long-promised study about whether a traffic light is needed at Sherwood Avenue and King Street. The New York State Department of Transportation was supposed to complete the study a decade ago, she said, after the Atria Rye Brook senior living complex was built. It never happened.

If the hockey complex gets built, Fox believes, the need for a traffic light there could intensify.

Finally, Fox described two surprises:

One, she didn't realize until Tuesday morning that the developer had updated its traffic study in mid-May (to include average traffic numbers while Brunswick School and the Convent of the Sacred Heart are in session).

That forced her to request more time from the Board of Trustees so that she and a Greenwich consultant could analyze the studies.